"You expanded above and past my original thought to include a national history using a Confederate dynamic to show how the Confederacy evolved from pre-Civil War, neigh, pre-United States events and deep rooted cultural history that formed the independent Southern mindset, to post-Civil War affects that were shaped by the existance of that Confederacy and how those affects helped form and shape American history to this very day. [right?]"
Yes, you are right, David. As you can see, my own concept of this museum is evolving as I post and read other's posts, but that is how ideas develop. To keep our eye on the preservation of the Confederate Theme, I am unsure how far back in American history we should go. I tend to think that the further back we go, the more we dilute the central purpose of the "National" Museum of the Confederacy. Right now, it seems to me that going back to only the 1850s might suffice, but others might argue with that.
I am also persuaded that any interpretation of the Confederacy and its effect on how Post-Appomattox American history played out might not permeate the entire range of purely Confederate exhibits, but be a separate building or room, or auditorium, that concludes a tour of the Museum and tends to "tie it all together" in a forward looking fashion for the museum patron, school children, and others.